Tessa Gargett

Research Interests

Applied immunology (incl. antibody engineering, xenotransplantation and t-cell therapies) Cancer Therapy Cellular Immunology Immunology Solid Tumours Tumour Immunology

Miss Tessa Gargett

Centre for Cancer Biology

College of Health

Date Position Institution name
2024 - ongoing Adjunct Senior Research Fellow University of Adelaide
2013 - ongoing Research Officer Royal Adelaide Hospital

Date Institution name Country Title
2010 - 2013 University of Adelaide Australia PhD

Year Citation
2025 Liapis, V., Wittwer, N. L., Tieu, W., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Staudacher, A. H. (2025). Detection of immune-mediated tumour cell death in vivo using Zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB®. Journal of Translational Medicine, 23(1, article no. 651), 651-1-651-18.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2025 Palethorpe, H., Shard, C., Scheer, K., Ryan, C., Fouladzadeh, A., Wenholz, D., . . . Gomez, G. (2025). An optimized explant organoid method for preclinical brain tumour research. NEURO-ONCOLOGY, 27(Supplement_5), v167.
DOI
2024 Gargett, T., Truong, N. T. H., Gardam, B., Yu, W., Ebert, L. M., Johnson, A., . . . Brown, M. P. (2024). Safety and biological outcomes following a phase 1 trial of GD2-specific CAR-T cells in patients with GD2-positive metastatic melanoma and other solid cancers. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 12(5), e008659-1-e008659-17.
DOI Scopus33 WoS31 Europe PMC26
2024 Gargett, T., & Ebert, L. M. (2024). Striking an alliance between T cells and macrophages for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. Immunology & Cell Biology, 102(7), 535-537.
DOI
2024 Yu, W., Truong, N. T. H., Polara, R., Gargett, T., Tea, M. N., Pitson, S. M., . . . Brown, M. P. (2024). Endogenous bystander killing mechanisms enhance the activity of novel FAP‐specific CAR‐T cells against glioblastoma. Clinical & Translational Immunology, 13(7), e1519-1-e1519-20.
DOI Scopus10 WoS11 Europe PMC7
2023 Yu, W., Gargett, T., & Du, Z. (2023). A Poisson distribution-based general model of cancer rates and a cancer risk-dependent theory of aging. Aging, 15(17), 8537-8551.
DOI Scopus2 WoS1
2023 Gardam, B., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2023). Targeting the dendritic cell-T cell axis to develop effective immunotherapies for glioblastoma. Frontiers in Immunology, 14, 1261257-1-1261257-14.
DOI Scopus12 WoS13 Europe PMC12
2022 Kollis, P. M., Ebert, L. M., Toubia, J., Bastow, C. R., Ormsby, R. J., Poonnoose, S. I., . . . Gargett, T. (2022). Characterising Distinct Migratory Profiles of Infiltrating T-Cell Subsets in Human Glioblastoma. Frontiers in immunology, 13, 850226-1-850226-19.
DOI Scopus23 WoS21 Europe PMC18
2022 A, M., Owen, K. L., Townley, S., Zanker, D., Rollin, S. P. G., Hanson, A. R., . . . Selth, L. A. (2022). Potent Stimulation of the Androgen Receptor Instigates a Viral Mimicry Response in Prostate Cancer. Cancer research communications, 2(7), 706-724.
DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2022 Gargett, T., Ebert, L. M., Truong, N. T. H., Kollis, P. M., Sedivakova, K., Yu, W., . . . Brown, M. P. (2022). GD2-targeting CAR-T cells enhanced by transgenic IL-15 expression are an effective and clinically feasible therapy for glioblastoma. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 10(9), 1-15.
DOI Scopus79 WoS79 Europe PMC75
2021 Yeo, E. C. F., Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). The role of cytokines and chemokines in shaping the immune microenvironment of glioblastoma: implications for immunotherapy. Cells, 10(3, article no. 607), 1-25.
DOI Scopus59 WoS54 Europe PMC48
2021 Truong, N. T. H., Gargett, T., Brown, M. P., & Ebert, L. M. (2021). Effects of chemotherapy agents on circulating leukocyte populations: potential implications for the success of car-t cell therapies. Cancers, 13(9, article no. 2225), 1-19.
DOI Scopus34 WoS31 Europe PMC25
2021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Positron emission tomographic imaging of tumor cell death using zirconium-89-labeled APOMAB® following cisplatin chemotherapy in lung and ovarian cancer xenograft models. Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 914-928.
DOI Scopus8 WoS9 Europe PMC6
2021 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2021). Erratum: Clinical chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma.. Clinical & translational immunology, 10(8), e1331.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1
2021 Liapis, V., Tieu, W., Wittwer, N. L., Gargett, T., Evdokiou, A., Takhar, P., . . . Staudacher, A. H. (2021). Correction to: Positron Emission Tomographic Imaging of Tumor Cell Death Using Zirconium-89-Labeled APOMAB® Following Cisplatin Chemotherapy in Lung and Ovarian Cancer Xenograft Models (Molecular Imaging and Biology, (2021), 23, 6, (914-928), 10.1007/s11307-021-01620-1). Molecular Imaging and Biology, 23(6), 929.
DOI
2020 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., Toubia, J., Kollis, P. M., Tea, M. N., . . . Brown, M. P. (2020). Endothelial, pericyte and tumor cell expression in glioblastoma identifies fibroblast activation protein (FAP) as an excellent target for immunotherapy. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 9(10), 1-24.
DOI Scopus52 WoS48 Europe PMC47
2019 Zhang, P., Raju, J., Ullah, M. A., Au, R., Varelias, A., Gartlan, K. H., . . . Tey, S. K. (2019). Phase I trial of inducible caspase 9 T cells in adult stem cell transplant demonstrates massive clonotypic proliferative potential and long-term persistence of transgenic Tcells. Clinical Cancer Research, 25(6), 1749-1755.
DOI Scopus23 WoS22 Europe PMC19
2019 Gargett, T., TRUONG, N., EBERT, L., YU, W., & BROWN, M. (2019). Optimization of manufacturing conditions for chimeric antigen receptor T cells to favor cells with a central memory phenotype. Cytotherapy, 21(6), 593-602.
DOI Scopus32 WoS32 Europe PMC35
2019 Brown, M. P., Ebert, L. M., & Gargett, T. (2019). Clinical chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy: a new and promising treatment modality for glioblastoma. Clinical and translational immunology, 8(5, article no. e1050), 1-20.
DOI Scopus38 WoS36 Europe PMC33
2019 Mencel, J., Gargett, T., Karanth, N., Pokorny, A., Brown, M. P., & Charakidis, M. (2019). Thymic hyperplasia following double immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in two patients with stage IV melanoma. Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology, 15(6), 383-386.
DOI Scopus4 WoS3 Europe PMC4
2018 Ebert, L. M., Yu, W., Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2018). Logic-gated approaches to extend the utility of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell technology. Biochemical Society Transactions, 46(2), 391-401.
DOI Scopus29 WoS29 Europe PMC23
2018 Gargett, T., Abbas, M., Rolan, P., Price, J., Gosling, K., Ferrante, A., . . . Brown, M. (2018). Phase I trial of Lipovaxin-MM, a novel dendritic cell-targeted liposomal vaccine for malignant melanoma. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy, 67(9), 1461-1472.
DOI Scopus86 WoS73 Europe PMC61
2017 Hughes, A. E., Clarson, J., Gargett, T., Yu, W., Brown, M. P., Lopez, A. F., . . . Yong, A. S. M. (2017). Comment on 'KB004, a first in class monoclonal antibody targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase EphA3, in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies: Results from a phase 1 study'. Leukemia research, 55, 55-57.
DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC2
2016 Gargett, T., Christo, S. N., Hercus, T. R., Abbas, N., Singhal, N., Lopez, A. F., & Brown, M. P. (2016). GM-CSF signalling blockade and chemotherapeutic agents act in concert to inhibit the function of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in vitro. CLINICAL & TRANSLATIONAL IMMUNOLOGY, 5(12), 12 pages.
DOI Scopus39 WoS32 Europe PMC28
2016 Gargett, T., Yu, W., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., Christo, S., Hayball, J., . . . Brown, M. (2016). GD2-specific CAR T cells undergo potent activation and deletion following antigen encounter but can be protected from activation-induced cell death by PD-1 blockade. Molecular Therapy, 24(6), 1135-1149.
DOI Scopus319 WoS295 Europe PMC281
2015 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. (2015). Different cytokine and stimulation conditions influence the expansion and immune phenotype of third-generation chimeric antigen receptor T cells specific for tumor antigen GD2. Cytotherapy, 17(4), 487-495.
DOI Scopus101 WoS88 Europe PMC91
2015 Gargett, T., Fraser, C., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., & Brown, M. (2015). BRAF and MEK inhibition variably affect GD2-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell function in vitro. Journal of Immunotherapy, 38(1), 12-23.
DOI Scopus34 WoS35 Europe PMC33
2014 Gargett, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Miller, D., Garrod, T., Yu, S., Wesselingh, S., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Increase in DNA vaccine efficacy by virosome delivery and co-expression of a cytolytic protein. Clinical and Translational Immunology, 3(6), e18-1-e18-7.
DOI Scopus23 WoS20 Europe PMC20
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Yu, S., Gargett, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). Encoded novel forms of HSP70 or a cytolytic protein increase DNA vaccine potency.. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 10(9).
2014 Yu, W., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Garrod, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). A novel challenge model to evaluate the efficacy of hepatitis C virus vaccines in mice. Vaccine, 32(27), 3409-3416.
DOI Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC12
2014 Garrod, T., Gargett, T., Yu, W., Major, L., Burrell, C., Wesselingh, S., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Loss of long term protection with the inclusion of HIV pol to a DNA vaccine encoding gag. Virus Research, 192, 25-33.
DOI Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC6
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Li, Y., Miller, D., Yu, W., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). DNA vaccines encoding membrane-bound or secreted forms of heat shock protein 70 exhibit improved potency. European Journal of Immunology, 44(7), 1992-2002.
DOI Scopus24 WoS21 Europe PMC19
2014 Garrod, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Yu, S., Gargett, T., & Gowans, E. (2014). Encoded novel forms of HSP70 or a cytolytic protein increase DNA vaccine potency. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics, 10(9), 2679-2683.
DOI Scopus10 WoS11 Europe PMC9
2014 Gargett, T., Grubor-Bauk, B., Garrod, T., Yu, W., Miller, D., Major, L., . . . Gowans, E. (2014). Induction of antigen-positive cell death by the expression of Perforin, but not DTa, from a DNA vaccine enhances the immune response. Immunology and Cell Biology, 92(4), 359-367.
DOI Scopus24 WoS25 Europe PMC24
2014 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. (2014). The inducible caspase-9 suicide gene system as a 'safety switch' to limit on-target, off-tumor toxicities of chimeric antigen receptor T cells. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 5(235), 235-1-235-7.
DOI Scopus325 WoS296 Europe PMC280
2010 Brown, C., Sadlon, T., Gargett, T., Melville, E., Zhang, R., Drabsch, Y., . . . Barry, S. (2010). Robust, reversible gene knockdown using a single lentiviral short hairpin RNA vector. Human Gene Therapy, 21(8), 1005-1017.
DOI Scopus27 WoS28 Europe PMC24
2010 Sadlon, T., Wilkinson, B., Pederson, S., Brown, C., Bresatz, S., Gargett, T., . . . Barry, S. (2010). Genome-wide identification of human FOXP3 target genes in natural regulatory T cells. Journal of Immunology, 185(2), 1071-1081.
DOI Scopus124 WoS122 Europe PMC112
2009 Hutton, J., Gargett, T., Sadlon, T., Bresatz, S., Brown, C., Zola, H., . . . Barry, S. (2009). Development of CD4⁺CD25⁺FoxP3⁺ regulatory T cells from cord blood hematopoietic progenitor cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 85(3), 445-451.
DOI Scopus29 WoS20 Europe PMC21
1997 McArthur, I. N., & Gargett, T. D. (1997). A “Gaussian” approach to computing supersymmetric effective actions. Nuclear Physics B, 497(1-2), 525-540.
DOI
1995 Gargett, V., Gargett, E., & Damania, D. (1995). The influence of rainfall on Black Eagle breeding over 31 years in the Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe. OSTRICH, 66(4), 114-121.
DOI WoS14

Year Citation
2024 Shai-Hee, T., Jue, T. R., Cazzoli, R., Rouaen, J. R., Michniewicz, F., Bell, J., . . . Vittorio, O. (2024). Priming of the glioblastoma tumour microenvironment via copper chelation to enhance the efficacy of immunotherapies. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS1
2024 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., Truong, N. T., Vittorio, O., & Ziegler, D. S. (2024). Myeloid cell rebound associated with GD2-CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumor patients. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 84 (pp. 2 pages). CA, San Diego: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI
2023 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., & Gardam, B. J. (2023). POSTER PRESENTATIONS - PROFFERED ABSTRACTS| APRIL 04 2023 Abstracts. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 83 (pp. 1 page). FL, Orlando: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
2022 Brown, M. P., Gargett, T., Ebert, L. M., Truong, N., Sedivakova, K., Kollis, P. M., . . . Ziegler, D. S. (2022). IN VITRO STUDIES IN SUPPORT OF GD2-SPECIFIC CAR-T CELL THERAPY FOR AGGRESSIVE ADULT AND PEDIATRIC BRAIN TUMORS. In CYTOTHERAPY Vol. 24 (pp. S125). ELSEVIER SCI LTD.
2019 Brown, M., & Gargett, T. (2019). CARPETS: A Phase I study of the safety and immune effects of an escalating dose of autologous GD2 chimeric antigen receptor-expressing peripheral blood T cells in patients with GD2-positive metastatic melanoma and refractory solid tumors. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 79 (pp. 2 pages). Atlanta, GA: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI WoS3
2019 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2019). DEFINING THE OPTIMAL CAR T CELL PHENOTYPE FOR PERSISTENCE AND EFFICACY IN MELANOMA PATIENTS. In CYTOTHERAPY Vol. 21 (pp. S27-S28). ELSEVIER SCI LTD.
DOI
2016 Gargett, T., Yu, W., Dotti, G., Yvon, E., Christo, S., Hayball, J., . . . Brown, M. (2016). The CARPETS trial: GD2-specific CAR T cell therapy for advanced metastatic melanoma. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 46 (pp. 517). Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL.
2016 Wijesundara, D., Grubor-Bauk, B., Gargett, T., Yu, W., & Gowans, E. (2016). A cytolytic DNA vaccine to target cross-presentation of dendritic cells. In EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY Vol. 46 (pp. 1060-1061). Melbourne, AUSTRALIA: WILEY-BLACKWELL.
2015 Gargett, T., & Brown, M. P. (2015). In vitro characterization of third-generation chimeric antigen receptor T cells directed toward GD2-expressing and BRAF-inhibitor resistant melanoma target cells. In CANCER RESEARCH Vol. 75 (pp. 1 page). Philadelphia, PA: AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH.
DOI

Year Citation
2025 Gardam, B., Nam, E., Kollis, P. M., Kilyen-Coles, J., Lenin, S., Gliddon, B. L., . . . Gargett, T. (2025). A Characterization of the Immune Cells in Immunocompetent and Immunodeficient Mice with Orthotopic Brain Tumors.
DOI Europe PMC1
2023 Yu, W., Truong, N. T. H., Polara, R., Gargett, T., Tea, M., Pitson, S., . . . Brown, M. (2023). Endogenous bystander killing mechanisms enhance the activity of novel FAP-specific CAR-T cells against glioblastoma.
DOI

  • Harnessing an unexpected new role of the CD47:SPRPA axis to target glioblastome invasion, NHMRC - Ideas Grants, 01/01/2024 - 31/12/2027

  • Targeting the DC-T cell axis to treat glioblastoma, CA-Priority-driven Collaborative Cancer Research Scheme, 15/05/2023 - 14/05/2026

  • Exploiting blood vessels as conduits for the entry of therapeutic CAR-T cells into brain tumours, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 02/10/2023 - 31/10/2025

  • Clinical CAR-T manufacturing for children with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, Neurosurgical Research Foundation, 01/10/2024 - 30/09/2025

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2025 Principal Supervisor To identify biomarkers of patient response to CAR-T cell therapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ryan U Theen Chin
2025 Principal Supervisor To identify biomarkers of patient response to CAR-T cell therapy Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Ryan U Theen Chin
2025 Co-Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Aijia Meng
2023 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Dendritic Cell - T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Bryan Gardam
2023 Co-Supervisor Investigating the Dendritic Cell - T Cell Axis in Glioblastoma to Explore New Combination Immunotherapy Treatment Options Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Bryan Gardam
2023 Co-Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Resty Nabeeta
2022 Co-Supervisor - Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Chris Nam

Date Role Committee Institution Country
2022 - ongoing Co-Chair SA Pathology Institutional Biosafety Committee Central Adelaide Local Health Network Australia
2017 - ongoing Member Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee Department of Health Australia

Date Office Name Institution Country
2023 - ongoing Treasurer International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy, Australia and New Zealand Regional Committee Australia

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